Promotions

After nearly a decade of a less than-optimistic employment market, things appear to be looking up. The unemployment rate is slowly, but steadily, declining. More people feel confident looking for a job in the past, and fewer people are worried about being laid off. In fact, about 30 percent of workers are so optimistic about their job prospects that they would be willing to leave their current positions if they do not receive a raise this year. Even just a few years ago, automatic annual raises, even just cost of living increases, were the norm. Unfortunately, however, one of the byproducts of the Great Recession has been a decrease in the number of companies giving automatic annual raises. While many employers would like to pay more, budgets